and highly intelligent. There was an air of majestic nobility
in his posture and the poise of his well-shaped head that would have
aroused envy in the heart of any Sepharian.

A muffled knocking at the door startled her; but before she could
respond, the Cro-Magnon slipped past her to lower the bar into place.

Again came the soft, insistent knock. Tharn stepped close beside the
princess, pointed at the door and then to her lips, at the same time
pressing the point of his knife gently against her side. The meaning was
clear; she must send away, unwarned, whoever was outside.

"Who is there?" she called.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, princess," came a muffled reply, "but
the man you warned us of is somewhere near here. Have you seen or heard
anything more of him?"

Alurna paused for a second, weighing her chances. But the cave-man's
cold gaze conquered the temptation.

"No," she said, "I have seen nothing more of him. Go now, that I may
sleep."

* * * * *

Tharn heard the man outside move away. Satisfied that he had gained a
brief respite from discovery, he returned to the window.

He pinched out the flaming wick in the dish of fat standing on a wooden
bracket nearby, to prevent someone in the grounds below seeing him at
the window. In the moonlight he could see several groups of warriors
about the grounds--patrols, posted to prevent him from leaving the
building. But Tharn had no intention of leaving until Dylara was free to
go with him.

From the floor above, and not far to his left, there jutted out a tiny
balcony, its slender stone columns topped with a balustrade of the same
material. As Tharn's eyes lingered there, an idea popped suddenly into
his mind.

After placing the bowl of grease on the floor, he tore the bracket from
the wall and wrenched one of its supporting wooden rods away. This done,
he tied one end of his grass rope to the exact center of the thick
cylinder and returned to the window.

Holding the free end of the rope in one hand, he poised the length of
wood, spear-fashion, aimed carefully, then launched it toward the stone
supports of the balustrade above and to his left.

Like an arrow it sped up and out, to pass cleanly between two of the
columns. Hauling in the slack, Tharn felt the rod catch lengthwise above
him; and though he tugged with all the strength of his arms, the rope
remained secure.

Without a backward glance, the cave-man swung into